I Belong With My Brothers
by MiddleEarth16
Summary: Rega, Fili and Kili's younger sister, has always relied on her brothers for everything. But when her family is threatened, she has to use her own wit and cleverness to save them. I do not own any of Tolkien's characters, only Rega.
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

Rega wiped a tear out of her eye.

She stood next to her two older brothers as they said their final farewells to their dead father. Fíli, the eldest, put his arm around her and hugged her tightly while she cried into her brother's shoulder.

"Why, Fíli?" she sobbed in a barely audible whisper. "Why would he leave us?"

Fíli studied his sister's face, her blue eyes dull, yet shining with tears. "I don't know," he finally breathed, then lightly kissed her pale forehead, brushing aside her long blonde hair, so much like his own.

Kíli turned towards them and quickly embraced them, then turned and walked away, covering his face. Rega had never seen her brothers cry.


	2. Chapter 1

**This is my first ever fanfic, so I'm super excited to see how everyone responds…**

**BTW, this story takes place about 40 years before The Hobbit, so Fíli is about 45, K****íli is about 40, and Rega would be about 37. They all have the maturity of 9-17 yr-old humans.**

**Chapter 1:**

Rega laughed. For the first time since their father's death, she laughed. Looking out at the trees, the birds, the new flowers, she laughed for no reason at all. Her brothers ran over a few minutes later. They picked her up and carried her back down the hillside.

"You're missing all the fun!" Kíli exclaimed. Rega rolled her eyes. It was just like her brothers to make sure she spent absolutely every minute with them. When they set her down, she stood in front of them with her arms crossed.

"What fun? I only see two dwarves who are in desperate need of-"

"Oh, please don't say a bath!" Kíli whined with a smirk.

"-hugs from their sister," she finished. They both grinned, and then trapped her in a huge bear hug.

.o0o.

That night, after eating dinner, Fíli excused himself to the bedroom he shared with his younger siblings earlier than usual. He needed time to himself, though he knew he should be spending time with his family. He sat down on his bed and put his head in his hands. Even two years after his father's death, he would'n cry, except to himself when he was alone. He couldn't- not in front of Kíli and Rega. His younger siblings still needed him to comfort them. They relied on his strength.

Dís stood in the doorway, watching the tears run down her eldest son's face. She walked in and sat down next to him, gingerly placing her arm around his shoulders. He threw his arms around her neck and sobbed.

"Fíli," she said slowly, "I know you try to be strong for your brother and sister, and for that I am grateful. But you can't just hide from them whenever you start to cry. They need to see that it is okay to feel grief and emotion."

He looked up at his mother's kind, loving face. "But-"

"I am grateful that you try to protect them," she whispered, then stood up and slowly walked out, leaving Fíli to stare at his hands clasped in his lap.

.o0o.


	3. Chapter 2

**The chapters WILL get longer, I promise. Sorry about the inactivity- had lots of homework. **

**Chapter 2:**

Kíli ran over to his sister, who was sitting on a rock next to their home in the Blue Mountains. She was drawing something- or writing. He tried to look over her shoulder, but before he could see what it was, Rega had turned over the paper and hidden it from his view.

"What is that?" he asked.

"Nothing important."

"Then can I see it?"

She contemplated this for a split second before answering. "Maybe some other time, when I can show you and Fíli together. Or never at all."

When he tried to take it from her, she pocketed it, then stood up and drew her dagger, which gleamed in the early morning sunlight on the snow. Kíli's eyes widened, until he saw her grin. He picked up his sword and Rega did the same.

Fíli watched as his younger siblings chased each other down the hillside. One corner of his mouth curved up in an amused half-smile. Then he chased them down into the forest, brandishing his broadsword in one hand and long knife in the other. When he reached them, he joined in their play-fight, siding against his sister with Kíli.

"No fair!" Rega protested, giggling. "Two against one, and I'm the youngest!"

The boys laughed with her. Her expression became determined, calculating even. She deflected their blows with a certain feminine grace, until they finally disarmed her. She rolled her eyes while they celebrated.

"Wow! You beat your younger sister," she smirked, "But it took both of you and half an hour to do it."

"Hey!" Kíli smiled.

"I agree with Kíli," Fíli said. "I could've beaten you whenever I wanted!"

"Sure..." Rega smiled at her brothers with raised eyebrows. They all dissolved into hysteric laughter.

.o0o.

"Fíli?" Rega whispered to her brother that night long after lights-out.

"Hmm?" he grunted into his pillow.

"Can I sleep with you tonight?"

He motioned for her to come over. "What's wrong?"

He looked into her tear-stained face, her shining, innocent blue eyes, and brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. Patting the mattress next to him, he motioned for her to lay down next to him. She immediately started crying, and he held her close and kissed her forehead, just as he had done that day a few months ago. He knew it was about their father- Addâd, as they called him- and he felt his eyes brimming with tears. Remembering what their mother said and turning away from his sister, Fíli sobbed into his pillow while Rega stared at him in shock. She was seeing him as he hated seeing himself- vulnerable and broken.

.o0o.

The next morning, Rega took out her drawings and looked at them. One of her brothers, sword fighting in the forest. The one of the mountains. The river weaving through the different clearings in the woods. The hillside leading home.

Closing her eyes, she could visualize each scene clearly. They were her connection to her father- everything he'd loved and shared with her- his only daughter- when he was alive.

Taking care not to let any tears drop onto her precious drawings, she folded it back up and put it into her left breast pocket- right over her heart.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

Kíli stood in the entryway to their home in the mountains looking out over the treetops and flowers, just starting to bloom amidst the melting snow. He almost didn't notice his brother walk up beside him, but turned around, hearing the soft crunch of frost under his brother's boots.

"I noticed you weren't in bed."

"And you aren't, either."

"Not anymore. I came out to see you." Fíli's face showed no sign of emotion. "Rega came to me again last night. She was crying."

"Addâd?"

"Yeah."

"But she hasn't done that in months."

"I know," Fíli replied. He turned and walked back inside, leaving Kíli standing alone.

.o0o.

As Rega opened her eyes, she found herself alone in the bedroom. She yawned and slowly sat up when she heard voices in the hallway. Quickly tying her hair back, she ran outside straight into the arms of her uncle.

"Uncle Thorin!" she cried.

"Hello, Rega," he smiled and pulled her into a hug with her brothers.


End file.
